IVF division of labour (humour)

If you don't know much about the IVF process the division of labour between the two parties goes a bit like this:

WOMAN - may start by taking a birthcontrol pill (ironic, eh?!) then she moves on to either a disgusting nasal spray or self-injections. After about 2 weeks she adds more injections to stimulate the follicles for another 2 weeks or so. During this time ther are regular blood tests and the fun of vaginal u/s (aka dildocam). When it's time to harvest the eggs (or oocytes if you want to be technical) she takes an hCG injection (yep - the pregnancy hormone, if you pee on a pregnancy test it will show up as a positive result) and 36 hours or so later she goes in for an egg retrieval and depending upon the clinic this is done under sedation or general anaesthetic. After all this probing she starts using progesterone pessaries or gel every day. Progesterone is an evil drug that makes you feel like you are PMSing x 1000. It's also highly messy. After 2-5 days she goes back for the embryo transfer and gets to ride in the special chair so that the dr can replace the embryos back into the uterus via a catheter - all very romantic. Then it's another 2 weeks of progesterone - some women also have hCG booster shots - before her period arrives or she gets a positive pregnancy blood test. During this time there are all sorts of protocols to follow and you must remember to take the right amount of drugs at the right time.

MAN- has a few preliminary blood tests which often make him nauseous and then provides a "sample" on egg retrieval day. Some clinics even provide private rooms complete with alcohol and pornos to help him perform, others have to do it at home and have to transport it leading to all sorts of comical situations. The most important thing for him to remember is to give it to the right person. In our clinic handbook this was highlighted in pink and bolded so you knew it was important - although who else were you going to give it to?

UK couple speak out about IVF clinic mix up

A mistake by a British IVF clinic six years ago resulted in the birth of mixed race twins. There have been a number of stories in British newspapers about the case. Bionews has a good synopsis of their story and links to the main newspaper articles.

National Infertility Day - UK

June 10th is National Infertility Day in the United Kingdom. A conference will be hosted by the National Infertility Network.

Embryo quality and IVF success

The quality of the embryos created and not the quantity put back is the key to IVF success according to a study from Finland.

Read more...

Placenta Previa risks for IVF pregnancies

A study from Norway has found that women who have IVF treatment are six times more likely to suffer a potentially dangerous condition (placenta praevia) during pregnancy than those who conceive naturally.

Interestingly there was also a finding that there is "a threefold risk among mothers who had given birth twice, once conceiving naturally and once IVF, or ICSI, in which a sperm is injected directly into an egg."

Read more in the Australian newspaper

"Designer babies" in the news

Over the last week there have been several newspaper stories, mainly from the UK, about "designer babies".

The Sun (UK) proclaims its sensational headline Designer tot is world first. On closer examination we learn that the couple in question screened their embryos to produce a baby free from a hereditary illness that has inflicted their first child.

Even The Times (UK) published an article entitled First baby in Britain designed cancer free about a couple who have again used PGD to screen their embryos for a form of eye cancer.

The use of the words "design" and "designer" evokes images of people using these technologies to screen embryos not only for disease but for positive attributes such as intelligence and preferred hair or eye colour. It is this Gattaca like image that fuels debates over the ethics of using PGD to screen embryos.

Dr Alan Thornhill, Scientific Director, London Fertility Centre and Honorary Lecturer, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College London via Bionews has a more realistic view:

"To get the desired combination of high intelligence alleles in just one baby, more than 5000 embryos would need to be tested. It would take a woman 40 years of continuous IVF with PGD to achieve this. In short, 'designing' babies using PGD is a non-starter."

Folic acid link to multiple births

Increasing dietary intake of folic acid could result in more women giving birth to twins after IVF treatment, UK researchers report.

Read more ...

Encouraging openess in egg donor families

Encouraging openness in gamete donation families from BioNews

A report on a study about donor families.

Woman in her 60s pregnant after IVF

There have been a lot of news stories this week about a 63 year old woman who is now 7 months pregnant after IVF treatment. Debates have centred around ethical issues:

Briton in her 60s pregnant after IVF from 'clone' medic from The Scotsman

'Oldest mum': We have thought this through from The Daily Mail

Baby Envy. Dealing with Infertility

Baby Envy. Dealing with Infertility

A rare article about the psychological effects of infertility. Several women talk of the strain that infertility has placed on friendhships with fertile friends.

in vitro maturation - new technique

from The Age (Melbourne, Australia)

"WOMEN who get seriously sick from IVF treatment will soon be offered a
less invasive technique - in vitro maturation"

Read more -
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/technique-gives-new-ivf-hope-
for-women/2006/04/12/1144521401729.html

Newspaper defends IVF competition

<excerpt>A follow up to our previous report:

</excerpt>http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/130406/birmingham_post_defends_ivf_competition

<excerpt><color><param>6666,6666,6666</param><smaller>

</smaller></color></excerpt>from The Press Gazette (UK)

<excerpt><bold><smaller>

</smaller></bold></excerpt>"The Birmingham Post has said its
controversial IVF treatments competition was "never about getting more
readers", following the birth of twins to a winning couple."

The newspaper claims that it was hilighting the inequity of the
"lottery" of NHS infertility funding (depending on where people live)
- however critics claim that it was promoted as a 'win a baby'
competition.

One wonders if the newspaper would have reported unsuccessful cycles -
which are more likely to occur.

Egg sharing to reduce IVF costs (UK)

from the Yorkshire Post Today - Leeds,Yorkshire,UK

'Helping someone desperate for a child to realise their dreams is a wonderful thing'

A story from the UK about egg sharing. After egg collection, the eggs
are shared equally between the egg sharer and the recipient.

"With relatively limited NHS funding for IVF available nationally,
many couples with fertility problems cannot afford to pay for the
treatment that they need. Egg sharing provides IVF treatment for
infertile couples who are prepared to share some of their eggs, at a
drastically reduced the cost."

New DVD on Emotional Journey of In Vitro Fertilization

Documentary Journeys through the Emotional, Physical and Psychological Roller Coaster of In Vitro Fertilization

"Technostorks (www.technostorks.com) is the first documentary that goes
inside the lives of couples to explore the emotions, expectations and
physical demands that IVF visits on those who want to conceive. Sitting
alongside them, viewers witness three couples unveil their greatest
hopes and fears. From their living rooms to the operating room,
Technostorks documents their journey beyond medical textbooks and
sensational headlines about sextuplets. It is a personal journey and
one with no single destination."

Newspaper funds IVF treatment

Newspaper funds IVF treatment - a story from the UK about a successful IVF birth of twins. The couple's IVF treatment was funded by a newspaper.

This was worth all the agony, tears and upset
Birmingham.co.uk - Birmingham,UK
Not only are they little miracles, they are also the first to be born...

Australia to plan fertility ad campaign

"The Fertility Society of Australia (FSA) is planning an advertising campaign warning of the factors that can affect fertility, the Age newspaper reports. The society says the ads, the first of their kind in the country, will be about 'IVF doctors stopping people from having IVF'. It hopes to draw attention to the difficulties faced by older women trying to get pregnant, and to raise awareness of the effect factors such as obesity, smoking and Chlamydia infection can have on fertility."

This story originally appeared in The Melbourne Agenewspaper.

You can read more about it on Bionews- the free weekly news digest of the top stories in assisted reproduction and human genetics, published by Progress Educational Trust.

IVF as a business

There's an interesting article by Deborah Hope in the Weekend Australian called I forgot to buy a baby which looks at IVF as a business. The article draws on ideas from the book The Baby Business. The article looks at the lack of regulation in the US IVF market and the implications of having a client base who are prepared to spend just about anything in their attempts to have a baby.

Stork Market - book review

The Stork Market
How making babies has become a $3 billion industry -- and an unregulated mess.

The Washington Post reviews this new book which discusses the Commerce of Conception.

frozen embryos

What to do with frozen embryos

"THE number of frozen human embryos stored in Australia and New Zealand has quadrupled over the past decade and for the first time exceeds 100,000, statistics show.

Although many of them are used promptly by couples taking in vitro fertilisation treatment, IVF experts are concerned that a growing number are in long-term storage with no plan for their use."

Social Sex Selection Study

"Most people would not choose the sex of their child if given the option, according to a new nationwide survey. The study is the first to examine the demand and preferences for sex selection among the U.S. general population."

From New Medical Net